“Goodyear Zeppelin” Doesn’t Have The Same Ring To It As “Goodyear Blimp,” But So It Goes

If you’re the kind of person who just can’t help but correct someone, anyone, who’s had the misfortune to utter something slightly factually inaccurate, let this serve as a warning: Although Goodyear is replacing its fleet of three blimps with zeppelins, the company is still going to call the beloved airships blimps. Because it’s not about technicalities here, people, it’s about blimp love.

That being said, if you’re intent on proving your superior knowledge of random trivia, you can let whoever might possibly be interested that the blimp has served well, but is being retired in favor of the quieter, faster and more maneuverable zeppelins, reports CNET.

The decision to switch out the blimps, which you may have seen idling around in the air space over sporting events, came about in 2011. The new fancy airships were developed by Friedrichshafen, Germany’s Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik (try saying that three times fast, or even once)), which is also the company behind the Hindenburg. You might’ve heard of that infamous air trip, but these zeppelins use non-flammable helium instead of the hydrogen that exploded back in 1937.

Zeppelins will provide the advantage of hovering, due to the way their three-engine design works, which is a boon to TV broadcasters who want an airship to stay right where it is to get the perfect shot. Those riding inside the bl– excuse me, zeppelins, won’t have to wear headsets either, as the zeppelins are much quieter.

And lest anyone gets all up in your face when you refer to the new Goodyear fliers as blimps, let it be known: “We will still call it the Goodyear blimp,” Goodyear’s director of global airship operations told CNET.